Trash can lid fastener

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a device for securing a lid to a container, such as a trash can. This prevents wildlife, such as raccoons, from accessing the contents. The device includes a cord that passes through a hole in the lid. A stopper larger than the hole is attached to the cord and is located inside the lid. The cord is removably connected to a cleat attached to a side wall of the container to secure the lid to the side wall.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present non-provisional patent application claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/690,033 filed Jun. 26, 2018, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a device for securing a trash can lid toprevent access to the garbage can's contents by wildlife, among othernatural occurrences.

Description of the Related Art

Wildlife, and particularly raccoons, are clever and have learned thattrash cans often contain enticing food scraps. Consequently, theseanimals regularly raid trash cans, in the process strewing trash andgenerally wreaking havoc.

As a result, many efforts have been made to secure a lid to itscontainer in a way that is easily operable by a person, but preventsaccess by wildlife. However, many of these solutions are eitherdifficult to install, proprietary to a specific trash can design, or areintegrated into the trash can.

Consequently, what is needed is a solution that is easy to install andcan be used with a wide variety of types of outdoor trash cans.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a trash can lid lock. The deviceincludes a connector in the form of a cleat that is attached to theoutside of a side wall of the trash can. The connector is secured to theside wall by way of a screw passing through a hole in the side wall toengage a connector lock located inside the trash can. The surfaceopposite the connector lock may be smoothed or rounded to preventtearing of any trash bag the connector lock may come into contact with.

A cord is attached to the lid of the trash can and runs from the lid tothe cleat. When coupled with the cleat, the cord prevents the lid frombeing opened, particularly by wildlife such as raccoons or otherwildlife. When not coupled to the cleat, the lid can be freely opened bya user.

In at least one embodiment, the cord passes through a hole in the trashcan lid. A stopper having a larger cross section than the hole isattached to the end of the cord that is inside the container, so as tosecure the cord to the lid.

In alternate embodiments, the cord is formed into a loop. Thisfacilitates easier coupling to the cleat, as the cord can be easilylooped around the cleat.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become clearer when the drawings as well as the detaileddescription are taken into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container and device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side plan view of a container and device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a plurality of components according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a top-down plan view of a stopper according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a cord and stopper according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Both the foregoing general description and the following detaileddescription are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictiveof the invention claimed. As used herein, “or” means “and/or” unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Furthermore, the use of the singularincludes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise, and use of theterm “including” as well as other forms, such as “includes,” and“included,” shall not be considered limiting.

With reference to FIG. 1, a cutaway of a container 1000 is shown. Thecontainer 1000 is preferably a refuse container, including but notlimited to as a trash can or recycling bin. However, any sort ofcontainer with a lid may be used.

The container 1000 of FIG. 1 has a side wall 1200 and a lid 1100. Thecontainer 1200 has an open top. The lid 1100 covers the open top andengages the side wall 1200 to close the container 1000.

The device 100 facilitates locking the container 1000 by securing thelid 1100 to the side wall 1200. The device 100 includes a cord 600 thatis removably coupled to a connector 300. When the cord 600 is coupled tothe connector 300, the lid 1100 is restrained to the side wall 1200,placing the container 1000 in the locked position. Uncoupling the cord600 from the connector 300 allows the lid 1100 to move with respect tothe side wall 1200, unlocking the container 1000.

As further described herein, the cord 600 may be formed into a loop.Coupling the cord 600 to the connector 300 includes looping the cordaround the connector 300. The cord 600 of FIG. 1 is a loop and passesthrough a hole 1150 in the lid 1100.

As seen in FIG. 2, the lid 1000 has an upper surface 1001 and a lowersurface 1002. A stopper 200 attached to the cord 600 is located adjacentthe lower surface 1002. The stopper 200 constrains the cord 600 so thatit cannot slip through the lid 1000. The cord then 600 runs from thestopper 200, over a portion of the upper surface 1001 of the lid 1000,and adjacent a portion of the sidewall 1200 to the connector 300. Theconnector 300 is attached to the side wall 1200.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the connector 300 is fastened to theside wall with a screw 500. However, any fastener may be used, and itmay be threaded or unthreaded. The connector 300 is disposed adjacent anouter surface 1201 of the side wall 1200. A bore 310 passes through theconnector 300, which receives and retains the screw 500. The screw 500passes through a hole 1250 in the sidewall. The screw engages aconnector lock 400 adjacent the inner surface 1202 of the side wall1200.

With further reference to FIGS. 1 and 3, in at least one embodiment theconnector 300 comprises a cleat. The connector 300 has a body 301 withopposing ends 302, 303. A first end 302 comprises a base portion 304that abuts the side wall 1200. The second end 303 comprises a pair ofhorns 305 that extend laterally in opposite directions. A trunk portion306 extends between the base 304 and the horns 305. The cord 600 iscoupled to the connector 300 by looping the cord 600 around the trunkportion 306.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the stopper 200 comprises opposingsurfaces 201, 202. A pair of holes 210 pass through the stopper 200 andare separated by a divider 220. The cord 600 passes through the holes210 and around the divider 220. The stopper 200 is sufficientlydimensioned and configured such that it will not pass through the hole1150 in the lid 1100 depicted in FIG. 1.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 5, the cord 600 is formed into a loop.This may be achieved, for example, by way of a crimp 610. A first end ofthe loop 601 is engaged by the stopper 200 as described above. Thesecond end 602 can be coupled to the connector 300 to lock the container1000.

With reference to the accompanying figures, any or all of the stopper200, connector 300, and connector lock 400 may comprise materials suchas but not limited to: ABS plastic with a UV additive, ASA plastic, orany combination of the two.

The cord 600 may comprise an elastic material, such as latex rubber. Byappropriately distancing the stopper 200 from the connector 300, a cord600 comprising elastic material may be used to provide tension betweenthe lid 1100 and side wall 1200, making it even more difficult forwildlife to open the container 1000. In various embodiments, the cord600 may comprise, by way of non-limiting example, materials such asnylon, elastic, polypropylene fabric, or any combination of theforegoing. In embodiments where the cord 600 comprises both an elasticmaterial and a polypropylene fabric, the polypropylene fabric may coverthe elastic to shelter it from the elements, including sunlight andsources of abrasion. In at least one embodiment, the cord 600 has across sectional diameter of approximately 3/16 inches.

The crimp 610 may comprise ¼ pound 316 stainless steel with a crosssectional diameter of approximately 0.02 inches. 316/316L stainlesssteel may be used, which aids the manufacturing process whereby thecrimp 610 engages the cord 600. In addition, such a material providesexcellent corrosion resistance.

The screw 500 may comprise zinc plated steel, which aids againstcorrosion from moisture. The screw 500 in at least one embodiment is aflat head, stainless steel machine screw measuring ¾ inches or 1 inch.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be madeto the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intendedthat all matters in the foregoing description and shown in theaccompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined bythe appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Now that the invention has been described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for removably securing a lid to acontainer, the device comprising: a cord having a first end and a secondend, a stopper coupled to said first end, and a connector removablycoupled to said second end, wherein said connector comprises a cleat. 2.The device of claim 1, wherein said first and second ends of said cordare coupled so as to form a loop.
 3. The device of claim 1, said loopbeing removably coupled to said cleat when wrapped around said cleat. 4.The device of claim 3, wherein said cord comprises an elastic materialof construction.
 5. The device of claim 2, wherein said stoppercomprises opposing first and second surfaces and a thickness extendingtherebetween, and a pair of openings each extending through saidthickness.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein said openings of said firstconnector collectively define a divider extending between said openings,and said loop is wrapped around said divider.
 7. A device for removablysecuring a lid to a container, the device comprising: a stopper havingopposing first and second surfaces and a thickness extendingtherebetween, and a pair of holes extending through said thickness andseparated by a divider, a loop of cord having first and second ends, andsaid first end is wrapped around said divider, a connector removablycoupled to said loop of cord.
 8. The device of claim 7, wherein saidconnector is a cleat.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein said connectorcomprises a body having opposing first and second ends, and wherein saidfirst end forms a base, and said second end forms a pair of opposing,laterally extending horns.
 10. The device of claim 9, wherein said bodyof said connector comprises a trunk extending between said first andsecond ends of said body, and said removable coupling of said loop ofcord to said connector comprises wrapping said loop around said trunk.11. A container assembly comprising: a container having a side wall andan open top, a lid being in removable engagement with said side wall, aconnector attached to said side wall, wherein said connector comprises acleat, a stopper disposed adjacent said lid, a cord coupled to saidstopper and removably coupled to said connector.
 12. The containerassembly of claim 11, said lid comprising opposing upper and lowersurfaces and a thickness extending therebetween, and said stopper beingdisposed adjacent said lower surface.
 13. The container assembly ofclaim 12, said lid comprising at least one hole extending through saidthickness, and said cord passing through said hole.
 14. The container ofclaim 11, said side wall comprising opposing inner and outer surfaces,and said connector being disposed adjacent said outer surface.
 15. Thecontainer of claim 11, said cord being a looped cord.
 16. The containerof claim 11, said cord comprising an elastic material of construction.17. The container of claim 11, said container comprising locked andunlocked states, wherein said container is in said locked state whensaid cord is coupled to said connector, and said container is in saidunlocked state when said cord is not coupled to said connector.